Leadership Development

Final Leadership Reflection

Part 1

For my leadership action plan, I created a “Girl's Guide to Middle School” seminar for the girls I run with in Girls on the Run. This year I wanted to grow as a leader by understanding not everyone will agree with me. While I was handing out the flyers for my seminar, one of the girls look at me and went, "Seriously!?" This sounds stupid.” I was hurt by this comment because I dedicated time to creating this. I then realized the girls who appreciated my efforts were the ones I wanted at my seminar. It was okay a girl disagreed with my ideas because, in the long run, she did not affect the outcome of my project.

Part 2

My mission for the Personal Leadership Philosophy was to conduct a “Girl’s Guide to Middle School” seminar for the fifth-grade girls, I run with in GOTR. A week after the culminating 5k, I met with five girls. Over the course of an hour, I lead a question and answer. Next, a middle school comfort level activity where the girls stood on a line and walked over or behind it depending on their fear level. The questions ranged from, “Are you afraid of making new friends to are you afraid of getting lost?” Afterwards, I lead a debrief on their reactions to the questions. To finish, they wrote letters to their middle school with things they learned during the seminar.

I was very proud of my leadership project. I finished everything on my action plan schedule and got productive feedback from my coaches, Ashley, the girls, and my mom. I believe the reason I achieved my goal was my passion for the cause. This motivation drove me to work on my action plan during my free time and the weekends because I care so much about being a role model for these girls.

Part 3

Hillary Clinton was a former, Senator, First Lady, and Secretary of State. Most importantly, she was the first female to be nominated for a major political party. She started her lifelong journey of advocacy, as a human rights lawyers. Clinton has started her life of civil service through her work for the Children's Defense Fund. From there, she used her passion for change as a Lawyer in Arkansas, where she was named Women of the year in 1983. After her husband, Bill Clinton, was elected President of the United States, she became First Lady campaigning for equal access to adequate healthcare. After her time in the White House, she was elected Senator of New York. In 2008 she ran for president, losing to Barack Obama. Fortunately, Obama appointed her as Secretary of State for four years. She continued her political career by running for president in 2016 and was the first female to win a major party nomination.

I chose Hillary Clinton because she stands up for what she believes. Hillary’s life has been under scrutiny since she appeared as a public figure. Her personal life has been splashed on tabloid internationally, despite this, she still voices her opinion. Early on she had to understand she could not please everyone, so she needs to please herself. I use Hillary Clinton as a mentor because I struggle with trying to please everyone. She shows me how to be confident in my decisions. If Hillary can go to rural Appalachia to campaign as a female-liberal running for the highest office in the world, I can tell a group member, “No, I am not going to take more on.” Finally, the most important lesson Hillary has demonstrated to me is, a good pantsuit can give you the confidence for just about anything.

Read from her book

Part 4Story of Self, Us, NowSelfFrom a young age, I can remember being engrossed in the thought of politics. As a preschooler, I would eavesdrop on my parents talking about George Bush, the War in Iraq, and the weakening economy. I always thought, “when I am older I can fix that, I’ll be just like George Bush only better.” Those were the first signs of my passion for politics. For the rest of elementary school without any hesitation when asked, I would answer, “I want to be president when I grow up.” Then middle school came along, and things changed. I was sitting in Mr. Garcias fourth period Spanish when I was asked again, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I answered the same as I always had, “I want to be the president.” Only this time, I was answered with, “Amaya there is no kitchen in the oval office,”, “Haha there is a reason there has not been a lady in the White House,” and “Why don’t you just become a lawyer?” Seventh Grade Amaya was crushed! I remember thinking, “I guess they’re right, I should just become a lawyer. There must be a reason we have not had a woman in the White House.”

Us

Currently, there are 21 women in the U.S. Senate and 84 in the House, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. These statistics are evidence of the inequality in government.

I am not blaming men for this. I do believe part is unintentional and men have been socialized to feel superior. Some women perpetuate these stereotypes by following stereotypes. I also know we have all experienced inequality- we all have had opportunities taken from us because of something we could not change about ourselves. Therefore, don’t take away a girl's dreams and rights. Instead, support her in shattering the glass ceiling and rising to the oval office.

NowI am calling upon every US citizen to end this norm. Through equal access to equal opportunities and sufficient education. Women can rise together and break the glass ceiling, because we are stronger together.

Part 5

I am proud of how my Girls Guide to Middle School seminar went. Because it was with only five girls, it was very intimate and the girls felt comfortable asking me questions. It also helped because I have run with these girls for three years. At the beginning, we talked about softer issues, such as opening lockers and grades, by the end we discussed issues that included toxic friendship, teen suicide, and finding someone who can always support you. I closed the seminar with them writing letters to their middle-school-selves.

When I do this again next year, I want to work on communication. At the last minute, I changed the date because I didn’t communicate with the coaches and the party and my seminar were on the same day. This all could have been avoided if I sent out an email to the coaches with my finalized dates.

Personal Leadership Philosophy Action Plan

Part 1:My definition of leadership includes positively, passionately, and productively influencing peers to work towards a common goal. Positivity is an extremely important skill for leaders because people react well to optimism. Furthermore, positive leaders set the tone of open mindedness, where everyone feels safe to share their thoughts. People can not be dedicated about what they are working on unless their leader is passionate. A passionate leader demonstrates passion and personal investment in the project. A leader must be consistently productive and innovative because people need to see momentum to feel inspired. If no change is being made it is understandable for people to lose interest and investment in a challenge or project. Part 2:My biggest strength as a leader is I try my hardest to make a difference for the common good and not just myself. Specifically, I love to get involved in everything I do. For example, I benefitted from a running program in middle school and as a result I wanted to share the inspiration with Durango youth by volunteering as a Running Buddy for Girls on the Run. I believe you can not complain about an issue unless you are willing to take steps to improve it. As a leader I struggle with wanting to please everyone. Sometimes, when I am leading I do all of the work because I want my colleagues to like me. I need to understand that being a leader means being a trailblazer and not everyone will agree with your stance. I want to keep this in mind because an empowered leader needs to be confident enough to effectively challenge their followers. My three core values are organization, gratitude, and dedication. I believe organization makes your life easier because you have a plan and are prepared. I have been organized ever since I can remember. As a child of divorced parents since day one I have had to plan my life for weeks in advance. As a result of this I have been extremely organized. As a leader being organized is extremely important to avoid stress and be more efficient. I have five minutes to get from school to Girls on the Run practice, therefore I always have a prepared bag of clean running clothes, water, and a snack to keep me energized for the girls. If I didn’t do this, my transition from school would be very stressful. I would come to practice frazzled, bringing anxious energy to practice which could then be passed down to the girls. Thanksgiving is not the only time of the year when people should display gratitude. Everyone should be grateful, but as a leader it is especially important. I believe when I am grateful I feel more content and the people around me feel better. In my family, expressing gratitude is one of our key principles. For example, every time my mom gets a referral, she writes the person who gave her referral a thank you note. As a leader, showing gratitude towards your followers is a skill that is often missed and is extremely beneficial. When I give a girl in Girls on the Run an Energy Award, I am rewarding her for a good deed. It can be anything from saying good job to a friend or supporting a member when she has a side cramp. I am encouraging her to do it again. This gives the girls incentives to be better participants. In the world of gratitude a little goes a long way.As I am growing older I am finding the things I am passionate about and dedicating more time to them. I am also finding ways I can lead in the programs I am passionate about. A good leader is always dedicated to their work. At the beginning of high school I decided I am fervent about leading a healthy lifestyle and empowering girls, this lead me to the Girls on the Run program. All the coaches are very invested into this program, volunteering many hours a week for the benefit of these girls. I use them as role models to improve. Now as a Running Buddy, I show my dedication by coming to all the practices, running in the 5K, and being a resource to the coaches. Most importantly, I show my dedication to the program by making sure all the girls feel supported. I am inspired by the clarity of your sense of purpose and passion!Part 3:Vision:I am extremely passionate about empowering young girls. When I was young I was outspoken, strong headed, and bold. As I have gotten older I am finding it harder to be that way due to society’s pressure on women to act a certain way. I asked myself, “When did I stop acting this way? Why did I stop being bold? What can I do to change this?” I realized to help these girls stay bold, outspoken, and strong headed, I must teach them that it is okay to be to be like that before they have to deal with the hard social pressure of middle school.When I help these girls stay fierce, I will help create a new generation of powerful women. After these girls graduate from the Girls on the Run Program, my goal is for them to use the social skills they learned to become confident, positive young women. I am a running buddy for the Riverview Elementary Girls on the Run program. Girls on the Run is a national organization with the goal of empowering young girls and concludes its season with a 5k. My goal as a leader is to support the girls while they are running to push themselves physically and socially. I will use encouraging words to help the girls when the running gets tough. Additionally, during the social development activities I will lead the girls by sharing my perspective of someone who has already gone through elementary school.Mission:My goal is to create a “Girls Guide to Middle School” seminar for the fifth grade girls teaching them how to successfully navigate middle school. I will use organization and creativity to make sure this event is exciting for the girls. I will know if I was effective by checking in with the girls when they are in middle school. I will lead this seminar after the Girls on the Run Season is over. Part 4:Girls on the Run needs a better conclusion to the season. After the 5K we have an end of the season party and then we don’t meet until next season. I would like to lead a debrief to make sure the girls remember to use the skills they learned in GOTR even after the season is over. This debrief would be important because self reflection and learning to grow as a person will not be part of their regular routine. My goal for this debrief is to remind them no matter what season they are in it is important to bring what they learned in GOTR into their lives.I would specifically like to work with the graduating fifth graders before they go to middle school. Middle school is full of social pressures and I want to make sure these girls have exceptional personal skills, such as self confidence, standing up for yourself, and kindness towards others to guide them throughout this time. I believe this would be beneficial because I struggled in middle school and if I had a gone through something like what I am proposing it might have helped me tremendously.Part 5:My SMART MISSIONMy goal is to create a “Girls Guide to Middle School” seminar for the fifth grade girls teaching them how to successfully navigate middle school. I will use organization and creativity to make show this event exciting for the girls. I will know if I was effective by checking in with the girls when they are in middle school. I will lead this seminar after the Girls on the Run Season is over. My Audience:My audience is the fifth graders of Girls on the Run Riverview Elementary. I will motivate these girls during this seminar by teaching them important skills through group collaborative activities and games. Because these girls are still young, I will try to make this as interactive and engaging as possible. My Action:My strategy for this seminar is to be very organized and creative. Beforehand, I will come up with an agenda of activities that are both thought provoking and entertaining. I want to come up with an agenda to make sure I am prepared. I will use the Milestone Timeline below. Creating a timeline will provide me with tangible amounts of work to complete at a time which will reduce stress for me. I will also use resources to help me improve this seminar. I want to get input from my mom, an adolescent therapist with experiences leading groups similar to this. After I have completed a plan for the seminar I would like her to critique it and I will use her critiques to improve my ideas.

Feedback:I will solicit feedback from the coaches and the girls by talking with them during practice. I can talk to the girls when they are running and the coaches when the girls are doing an activity. As I do this I can use what I have learned to adapt my leadership plan to be as effective as possible. After I am complete with this seminar I will ask the girls if it was helpful for them and what can I do to make it more impactful for the future if I do facilitate again. Questions I will ask:Are you nervous or excited about middle school? Why?What would help you prepare for middle school?What are rumors you have heard about middle school?Would you be open to coming to a seminar teaching you about helpful skills to have in middle school?

Reflection:I am proud of how my Girls Guide to Middle School seminar went. Because it was with only five girls, it was very intimate and the girls felt comfortable asking me questions. It also helped because I have ran with these girls for three years. At the beginning we talked about softer issues, such as opening lockers and grades, by the end we discussed issues that included toxic friendship, teen suicide, and finding someone who can always support you. I closed the seminar with them writing letters to their middle-school-selves. When I do this again next year, I want to work on communication. At the last minute I changed the date because I didn’t communicate with the coaches and the party and my seminar where on the same day. This all could have been avoided if I sent out an email to the coaches with my finalized dates.